Work-related asthma- Analysis of the Asthma Call-Back Survey

Background: The American Thoracic Society has estimated that the occupational contribution to the population burden of asthma is 15%. Limited information on work-related asthma (WRA) at the state level is available. The Asthma Call-Back Survey (ACBS), part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, provided an opportunity to address this gap.

Objectives: To present an overview of data analyses on WRA conducted using the ACBS.

Methods: We analyzed 2006, 2007, and 2008 ACBS data from 37 states and District of Columbia for ever employed adults (aged ≥18 years) with current asthma. We estimated weighted proportions and, using logistic regression, calculated prevalence ratios (PRs).

Results: An estimated 9.7% of individuals had health professional-diagnosed WRA, however 47.5% indicated that their asthma may be related to work. Compared with persons with non-WRA, those with WRA were more likely to be 45¨C64 years of age (PR=1.5); have lower income (PR=1.8) and education (PR=1.2); be unemployed (PR=1.3); have poorer asthma control (PR=1.6); have increased asthma-related emergency room visits (PR=1.6), urgent treatment visits (PR=1.7), and hospitalizations (PR=2.2); have financial barriers to asthma care (PR=1.6); have a lifetime diagnosis of COPD (PR=1.3) and depression (PR=1.2); and use complementary and alternative medicine (PR=2.0). A major limitation of the data is the lack of information on occupational history. Conclusions: These results indicate that WRA is a public health challenge. The ACBS is a useful tool for the collection of population-based information on WRA and the addition of occupational history information would help target interventions.